About Blog Unbiased Reviews and Information on Weight Loss, Anti-aging, and Longevity Programs for Men & Women. Here you’ll find outtakes of our journeys and experience with the HCG Diet program. If you’re on, or considering, the HCG diet program take some time to read out stories. We’ve tread the path before you and have lots of tips and insights to make your ride smooth and successful.
Jennifer Drummond is health food blogger for Peanut Butter & Peppers where she shares healthy, and sometimes not-so-healthy, recipes that help you maintain your weight loss by taking everyday foods and making them healthier without sacrificing the flavor. Jennifer has lost 30 pounds through proper nutrition education and shares her healthy lifestyle tips on her blog.
Among the potential fat-burning substances, green tea may be among the better options. A review article published in Obesity Reviews in 2011 noted that although there isn't enough evidence to recommend most fat-burning supplements, green tea and caffeine have been shown to increase fat-burning. You may want to make green tea your beverage of choice. Not only is it calorie-free, but it also appears to enhance the belly fat loss brought on by exercise, according to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2009. The combination of antioxidant substances called catechins and caffeine in the green tea may cause increased energy expenditure and fat-burning, according to a review article published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry in 2011.

Ketones (beta-hydroxybutyrate [BOHB] and acetoacetate [AcAc]) are produced by the liver when both serum insulin and liver glycogen levels are low (McGarry 1973). They can be made from fat stored in the liver, from fat released from body adipose reserves and delivered via the bloodstream; or they can be made from dietary fat entering the bloodstream after digestion and absorption as chylomicrons. In other words, once fat is in the body as adipose reserves or absorbed dietary fat, liver ketone production is a function of blood insulin and liver glycogen content. There is no special relationship between mobilization of body fat stores (i.e., weight loss) and blood ketone levels.

I didn’t realize just how many calories I was consuming, so tracking what I ate helped keep me aware of what I was putting in my mouth. I don’t count calories anymore, but I track macros (protein, carb, and fat grams) to keep my diet balanced and in check. Macros allows me to have my carrots and cake, too! If you’re interested in learning more or want to work together, check out my macro plan options!

Portion size matters and it’s easy to fall into the habit of overeating and underestimating protein portions. An extra egg for breakfast, an additional ounce of nuts as a snack, or perhaps one more ounce of cheese on your salad–it all adds up. Too much dietary protein can drive down ketone production (Marliss 1978) when consumed in excess of our body’s needs. Read more about this in our deep dive on protein.
First, eliminate or seriously cut back on the fake foods. When possible, choose real foods instead. Among weight loss tips, this one is absolutely essential. That means an apple instead of apple juice, orange slices instead of something orange-flavored. If you’re craving something, skip the no-fat version that will likely leave you wanting more, and instead measure out a serving instead so you can enjoy the food without going nuts.

Most people who want to lose weight have more than 12 pounds to lose. That’s why even the best weight loss drug in the world can only be an optional complement to other treatment. That’s why this piece of advice is number 18 out of 18. It may be a helpful addition for some people, but the advice higher on the list is what can make the biggest difference, by far.

If u are getting lots of headaches it’s likely due to your electrolytes not being balanced. Please make sure your taking a magnesium and potassium supplement. Magnesium can make u drowsy a bit so id suggest taking before bed. Please also make sure you are taking in enough water, plain water or with lemon. Also some artificial sweetners, even keto friendly ones can cause headaches.

About: Lisa hails from the United Kingdom — a long way from the U.S., but with a touching story of strength that is impossible to ignore. Lisa suffers from Chronic Fatigue, a debilitating condition that’s slowed her down significantly in life, and one that she’s also managed to fight back from. Lisa started her blog about a year ago as a way to lose weight in the hope that it would help improve her disease — her fight is definitely an inspirational one to follow.

I am 31 years old and have gained weight over last 10 years and currently i am 40lbs over my ideal weight (123lbs). I have been trying to lose weight but it creeps back up after one or two weeks. I have decided to go carb free finally as my brother just lost 20lbs in a month along with cross-fit boot camp. My question is that if i do one hour yoga instead of any cardio/walk/run/strength training, will it be fine or i need to include any thing else.
I can completely relate to your struggles with weight. At times, I almost felt like I was reading my own story. Take out the college dorm stuff and throw in 2 jobs, one of them at a gym, and add a baby and I’d say our stories are pretty similar. My husband is deployed now, and I started running (did my first 5K 10 days ago). I’m down a solid 15 lbs in 2 months… and I haven’t even been strict with my “diet”. Keep running, girl! You can do it! 🙂

Hi Adam, I was searching for a source that would help me lose 40 pounds in two months and pretty much you had a similar story to me. I find it so hard and frustrating finding a diet that works for me and I weigh 195. I’m a singer and a performer and its really uncomfortable with all this weight on me and I need to lose 40 pounds by the summer of july. I sincerely need help and from what I see, I feel you can help. If you can please email me it’ll be well appreciated.

To lose belly fat and uncover amazing abs, Schuler recommends a series of core stabilization exercises based on a training program devised by co-author and personal trainer Alwyn Cosgrove. "Core exercises like the plank help train muscles to stabilize the spine and pelvis so you can avoid back pain and improve posture, Schuler says. "Planks also burn more calories than crunches because they work more muscles." (P.S. crawling is a great dynamic abs exercise too.)
While you may be tempted to eat as few calories as possible to lose weight more quickly, as mentioned above, it’s important that you don’t cut more than 1,000 calories from your daily diet or eat fewer than 1,200 calories a day — even if that means your energy deficit is smaller than 1,000 calories. Eat too little and you’ll slow down your metabolism and put yourself on track to regain the weight — often with a few extra pounds.
Unfortunately, that balance can be hard to find when our ancient evolutionary responses just aren’t appropriate for the modern food environment. Especially for women who are already overweight, it’s entirely possible that the fat -> estrogen -> fat cycle can spiral out of control. Weight loss by itself approaches this problem from one angle (less fat means lower estrogen production), but specifically addressing estrogen might also be helpful.
About: It’s difficult enough trying to get yourself on track to living healthy, but add in a family, and it can seem like the odds of success are astronomical. Enter Katie. As the mother of six, she has a lot of experience and a laundry list of tips and tricks busy moms and families can work together to achieve wellness. She sticks to real food, natural remedies and natural living in an effort to combat all the chemicals and pollution that could potentially hurt your family — and she does a darn good job of it.
About: Yes, this is another one with plenty of followers, but it really is the best for one group: mom. Let’s say you are a mom. We’ll bet finding time to exercise and eat healthy seems damn near impossible, yes? Then Brooke’s blog is for you. It’s armed to the tee with quick fitness routines, easy-to-make recipes, heck, even stuff you can do with your baby. And if that’s not enough, you can also use it as a go-to resource to get the skinny on things like baby names, connecting with your loved ones and activities to do with the kiddos.
Another frontrunner on the U.S. News and World Report 2016 list (it came in at number two in the weight loss category), the HMR Weight Management program is used in over 200 medical facilities around the U.S. Dieters embark on two phases, the first centered around HMR's products (meals, shakes, snacks) and the second transitioning towards a sustainable plan emphasizing fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains.
Keep your exercise regimen interesting. Variety is the key to both promoting a healthier you and keeping you motivated. When you do the same exercise day in and day out, you put yourself at a higher risk of injuring yourself. You are also more likely to become bored, thus making it harder to find the motivation to keep exercising. While at the gym, switch between machines, join a fitness class, and add some resistance training into your schedule.[3]
About: Jade’s 6+ years of experience blogging means, at first glance, we would have passed right over her for this list. But it’s her recent debut into weight loss and healthy living blogging that caught our eye. Jade lives in Singapore, and just looking at Jade’s photos, it’s hard to imagine her as ever being overweight. But in 2012, she was unhappy with the way she looked, a feeling she’d had her whole life. Then the thought occurred to her that she had the power to change it. A total lifestyle overhaul and 44 pounds later, and Jade’s story is a success we can all admire.
Hi Adam. Your story is really inspirational to me. Before, the thought of diets and exercise was very intimidating to me. These methods however seem, for lack of a better word, easier. I’ve begun to follow your guide lines today and i have a question for you. What did you normally eat for dinner during your diet? I’d appreciate an answer whenever you have the time, thank you.
I believe that this cheat day is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, the science behind it suggests that if you go for too long on a limited-calorie diet (which this isn’t, however I noticed that it took me much, much less food to fill me up when I ate well, so you tend to naturally eat less on this diet) that your metabolism will shift to a lower gear in order to compromise for the lower intake of calories. By cheating one day and spiking the number of calories you consume, it will keep your metabolism from doing this – and allow you to maintain your high metabolic rate throughout the week.
Thank you for sharing your journey. I’m a mother of 5 and I homeschool. I’m 39 and 40 pounds overweight. I’ve never been over weight and I’m struggling. I emotionally eat all day, everyday and my weight just keeps creeping up. I’ve hoped the Lord would tell me to fast so maybe I’d lose weight but He knows that’s not the right heart and so do I. I’ve been praying for something to stand out, something that will help me desire to make a change. I’ve been feeling lost and hopeless. After reading your blog here, I’m crying and praying because I feel like this might be my answer to prayer. I stumbled upon your story accidentally and I’m finding myself feeling the Lord all over it. Thank you! Through praying now, tears and not believing in myself because I ALWAYS fail, I’m hoping that maybe, just maybe this might be the time. Thank you!
Toning your abs when trying to lose belly fat is crucial as well. To make a traditional plank routine more challenging, add in side planks. Roll onto your left forearm and stack your right foot on top of your left. Hold this position for 60 seconds, then switch sides. Having only two points of contact rather than four works your core harder and challenges your obliques as well.
Here’s a shocker: When a group of U.K. researchers told 30 women to avoid chocolate, then packed them into a room filled with the stuff; the women were much more likely to sneak a bite than individuals who hadn’t been given the order. Blame the allure of the forbidden: The more you tell yourself you can’t eat something you love, the more you’re going to want it.

Rather than a long and low-intensity cardio workout, try the HIIT method of cardio: intense, fast-paced intervals that leave you completely exhausted after only a 20- to 30-minute session. This form of cardio training increases the afterburn effect, allowing your body to continue burning calories long after your workout is over. You can rotate between 30 seconds of your favorite exercises, with rest in between, as long as they work different muscle groups—such as squats, push-ups and kettlebell swings.

Thank you so much, Cindy! You should absolutely document your journey! It makes such a big difference to have people to cheer you on and especially for you to have those pictures to look back on your journey. You can do it, one small change at a time. If you decide to document your journey on a blog or social media, please share it with me. I’d love to cheer you on!
It's a great accomplishment to lose half your body weight, as Shauna of The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl did, but the real beauty is in how she's mostly kept it off for a decade. After regaining 50 pounds, she confronted her emotional issues around eating and now says, "my philosophy boils down to: Do the healthy thing more often than you don't do the healthy thing. It's not about numbers and scales, it's eating well and being kind to myself. Persistence, not perfection. Getting back up when I fall over. Over and over again!"
Excellent question! I suppose you could look at it like this: you are less insulin sensitive in the luteal phase, so in order to prevent fat gain it is “more important” to burn sugar and fat at this time – so if weight loss is your goal, and if you do good, hard anaerobic workouts, then this will sharpen your insulin sensitivity as much as possible and help keep you lean via that mechanism. If, on the other hand, weight loss is not your goal but fitness and strength are, then you may wish to do aerobic work at this time (with higher blood sugar you can accomplish greater aerobic feats), and save the anaerobic work for the rest of your cycle. Does that make sense? At least, that is what I am guessing is happening here.
I’m finding the same thing right now for my marathon training. I’ve been trying to hybrid a marathon training / weight loss program – but they don’t necessarily overlap. Don’t get me wrong – running a lot and eating well is bound to shed off some weight, but I’ll eventually move my diet and workout to align with my marathon goal over my weight loss efforts.
It is not that men don’t diet. They just do it differently. They tend to include more saturated fat in their diet, while women tend to completely avoid them. Nutritionists explain, as long as they keep their intake lower than 15 per cent of their total daily fat intake, saturated fat isn’t harmful. In fact, small doses of saturated fat can help them avoid testosterone depletion.

For us ladies there is a dreaded week each month that we hold onto water weight (and usually a bar of chocolate) and guess what, you will be much more forgiving at the end of the week weigh in if you know once a month you just happen to be 5 pounds heavier. You’ll say to yourself, yep that’s my pattern, it’s OK and it will be gone next week. See… sometimes homework can be beneficial.

If you're mostly sedentary (and let's face it—with 9-to-5 desk jobs being the norm, it's hard to avoid), you'll start to see noticeable results with just a slight increase in your activity level. Break up the hours in front of the computer by using your lunch break to move around. "I started walking for 45 minutes during my lunch break," says Melissa Leon, who ultimately dropped 53 pounds. "The area was super hilly, but feeling the burn in my butt and quads as I powered up those hills let me know I was making progress."
Switching from carbs to ketones does not happen overnight – it takes weeks of consistently restricting carbs for this process of keto-adaptation to fully occur. But once this process is complete, the body can burn fat at over twice the rate compared to when carbs were a major component of the diet (Phinney 1983, Volek 2016). And this remains true even when comparing highly trained athletes, where we have shown that high-level endurance training in the context of a high carbohydrate diet cannot come close to matching keto-adaptation in giving the body permission to burn fat.
No, we’re not telling you that you need a tummy tuck (although that would flatten your belly, we suppose). Rather, there are several common health conditions that can make your belly bulge and until you fix the anatomical issues underneath, nothing else can flatten it out. For instance, many women have a diastisis recti, or separation of the abdominal muscles, after pregnancy. In about 25 percent of these women, the muscles never quite come back together, leading to a permanent protrusion. Similarly, a hernia (congenital or from an injury) can also cause your belly to stick out. Both conditions can be resolved surgically.
About: The best word to describe Chanden's blog is sassy. She’s not afraid to write a little rough around the edges (if you know what we mean), and she’s got a fun personality which comes through her posts as she works to get fit and change her eating habits. She does that by creating healthy recipes and offering cooking tips that she used to drop 70 pounds since she started her blog in March 2015. She also shares her own personal journey and thoughts, and her recipes are in a league of their own.
About: Sanji started her blog in 2009 as a personal journey to discover what adventures life would bring her, including religion, dating, traveling and more. Fast forward 7 years later, and Sanji is married and has a child. Recently, she morphed her blog into a place to share about her weight loss journey and efforts to live healthy. Add in her long-time writing experience and willingness to get vulnerable, and you’re sure to find it’s a journey you can relate to and find inspiration.
Calorie counting is going to be hard at first, but you can do it!! You know what you should and shouldn’t eat and the main thing is to listen to your body, when your hungry eat, when your not stop. I know it’s easier said then done!!! I’ll be honest, I’m on the calorie counting yo-yo! I stop counting, then I start back up. I’m off the counting right now, hopefully I can do it this time!!! Stop back and let me know how you are doing!!
Another explanation for slow weight loss… I had already been doing Paleo for two years when I switched to Ketogenic. The weight is coming off slowly because I already dropped the easy weight (over 20 pounds) from eating simply gluten-free previously. I’ve lost 10 more pounds, another 15-20 to go. And I’m fine with slow so long as I’m making progress.

Oh and Sara and I actually connected thanks to Pinterest! She had seen one of my posts on Pinterest and when she saw my website and read my weight loss journey, she saw that we had a lot in common. We emailed a bit, then talked on the phone, and we clicked instantly. It was, without a doubt, a God-led meeting and we have both been so blessed by every part of our friendship and business partnership!

What should you eat after working out? Exercise is beneficial for overall health. To get the most effective exercise, it is necessary to have good nutrition. There is a range of things to eat right after a workout that will help in specific fitness goals. It is also essential to eat to recover energy levels. Learn more about what to eat after a workout. Read now

Great article! I didn’t realize I was doing KETO, but on June 22nd this year I reduced my carbs to about 15g per day. To date I have lost 29 pounds, and feel fantastic! I eat 1/4 cup of steel cut oats for breakfast with 1/2 cup lactose and fat free milk, and one table spoon of chopped walnuts. Lunch is 2 eggs fried in a teaspoon of coconut oil with a handful of spinach thrown on. I have 2 snacks a day. One is an ounce of hard cheddar, the other one tablespoon of natural peanut butter. My evening meal is about 4 ounces of whatever meat and heaps of green veggies, sometimes sweet potato, but only once a week. I like to do miracle noodles with shrimp in a lobster bouillon with red pepper flakes for heat, and I have started batch cooking meatballs all weighed out for quick meals etc Loving it, and loving life!

It sounds silly, but switching which hand you eat with can save you calories, and help boost weight loss. “It takes 15 minutes for your brain to realize that you’re full,” celebrity personal trainer Jay Cardiello told us in our article over 40 weight loss tips. “To give your mind time to catch up to your mouth, simply switch your fork to non-dominate hand. It may be frustrating, but it’s a simple and unnoticeable way to curb overeating and lose weight.”
This question is on so many minds: how can I lose belly fat...and fast? While there's no magic formula of food and exercise to reduce belly fat with the snap of your fingers, there are nutrition choices, exercises and lifestyle changes that can help. Here's your guide to understanding exactly what belly fat is and how you might be able to reduce it over time.
As women age, weight creeps up too, with the average women gaining about one pound per year in their 40s and 50s, resulting in an added 10 to 15 pounds. The drop in estrogen levels during this time of perimenopause (the years leading up to menopause) contributes to weight gain and can change the way you distribute fat. You may gain weight in your belly more readily than you did in younger years.
Hi! I have to say 600 calories is terrible! You are going to starve your body. On average without exercise, your body burns at least 1400 calories, if you are eating only 600 calories you are not fueling your body with proper nutrition. When this happens your body goes into starvation mode and you end up gaining weight to, worse yet, end up sickly. Don’t do that to yourself, please! When I added more calories into my diet, I gradually added more, like a 200 a week. I gave myself an extra snack. I don’t recall if I gained weight at the beginning, but I do know I lost weight when I ate more. Don’t be afraid to eat!! What I would do if I were you is add more protein into your diet, like eggs, greek yogurt, lean chicken. You also need a little fat like avocado, olive oil or peanut butter. I personally found the hardest thing about dieting is not being able to stick to it. I dieted for 2 years lost weight, but then life happened. I eat healthy but what I started back when I was dieting I was eating low calorie, now I eat what normal people eat and I gained some weight back. But I realized what I was doing to my body back then, I wasn’t able to do that for the rest of my life. My advice is to eat healthy, eat what is in your calorie range and exercise for 30 minutes a day, even if it is just a walk. Doing this is a set-up for permanent weight lose and you will be healthy. I learned over the years that a healthy body on the inside, shows on the outside and even if you gain a little weight you are better off.
Chronic stress may increase levels of stress hormones such as cortisol in your body. This can cause increased hunger and result in weight gain. If you’re looking to lose weight, you should review possible ways to decrease or better handle excessive stress in your life. Although this often demands substantial changes, even altering small things – such as posture – may immediately affect your stress hormone levels, and perhaps your weight.

As explained below, the folks who did the NuSI metabolic ward study committed 2 errors. The first was a design flaw: the low fat diet was administered first to all 17 study subjects, and then they were given the ketogenic diet for the second month. In a well-designed trial, the diet sequence would have been randomized. The second flaw in the study was that these scientists underestimated their subjects daily energy needs by about 300 kcal/day – a 10% error. The combination of these two flaws would predictably tilt the playing field against seeing a significant increase in energy expenditure during the ketogenic phase of this study.

Andie is a healthy recipe developer and New York Times best-selling author. She shares some of her most delectable food ideas on her blog. She’ll tell you right up front: She believes in balancing health and happiness. And it was through that balance that she lost 135 pounds — a journey that can also be found in her memoir, “It Was Me All Along.” Visit the blog.